Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

It might be said that although France perverted the ideals of their revolution during the Reign of Terror, they held true to them in one area the American's did not: slavery. However, their abolition of slavery was more of a forced political move than a defense of principles. Similarly to the American Revolution, slaves and "free coloreds" found that the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity applied to them as well. They too were willing to fight for them, and overall were more successful. However, the white elite and political authority on Saint-Domingue did not feel the same way. They were
outraged when the National Assembly granted political rights to all free people of color born to parents with some property. The governor even refused to enact the law. As war with Europe approached, on April 4, 1792 the National Assembly enfranchised all free "people of color", not including slaves. This was a tactic to win their loyalty so that they could crush the slave rebellion and stabilize the colony, as they had a larger war to worry about. Only when they were desperate for troops did they ratify the abolition of slavery. In reality, the French did not better the Americans in their support for their ideals. The French simply had more to gain politically and economically by freeing their slaves.

Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Delisle_-_Carte_de_l%27Isle_de_Saint_Domingue.png